By Qamar Bashir
In a world where airspace over Gaza is dominated and surveilled by two of the most
powerful military-intelligence complexes—the United States and Israel—Belgium did the
unthinkable. On August 4, 2025, as part of a coordinated humanitarian mission, the
Belgian Air Force dropped 15 tonnes of food and medical aid over Gaza, followed by
another 16 tonnes on August 5. This wasn’t just an act of delivery. It was an act of
conscience, a rare moment of leadership that pierced through a blockade maintained by
military dominance and political inertia. Belgium may not have flown completely solo,
but it was the first European nation to boldly participate in this form of direct aerial aid to
the besieged Palestinian enclave—without waiting for Israel’s green light or America’s
diplomatic blessing.
This airdrop shattered the illusion that nothing could move into Gaza without Israel or
U.S. approval. Until now, the humanitarian narrative had been paralyzed by paperwork,
stuck at border crossings Israel controlled, or outright denied on security pretexts.
Belgium, operating through coordination with Jordan but acting on its own decision-
making, rewrote that script.
It risked its aircraft, its diplomatic capital, and its credibility in a global environment still
largely cowed by Israeli influence and American geopolitical control. With American
military bases spread across the Middle East like sentinels of surveillance, and Israeli
radar systems monitoring every approach into Gaza, Belgium’s presence in that airspace
was a political thunderclap.
What followed was just as remarkable. Inspired by Belgium’s courage, a number of
countries quickly followed. France began its own airdrops, delivering over 40 tonnes of
aid. Germany, Spain, and Italy joined with commitments and logistical coordination.
Jordan, acting as a central hub, helped facilitate these missions, while the UAE and Egypt
also pledged and executed deliveries.
The United Kingdom announced its intent to begin airdrops, and Saudi Arabia is
reportedly preparing its entry into the mission. In total, over a dozen nations are now
either actively participating or making logistical arrangements to deliver aid from the
skies to a population pushed to the brink of starvation.
What makes this different from earlier “statements of concern” is that these actions are
material, not symbolic. They directly bypass the decades-long stranglehold that Israel and
the U.S. have exerted over humanitarian corridors to Gaza. Belgium’s decision didn’t
come with a negotiated corridor, but with a moral one: the belief that starving people do
not need permission slips for mercy.
It illuminated the fact that the world’s most powerful democracies—those who claim to
uphold human rights—had instead enforced silence through fear. By dropping aid into
Gaza, Belgium dropped a precedent. It proved that humanitarian urgency can override
geopolitical obedience.
In terms of international relations, this moment could signal the slow dismantling of U.S.-
Israeli impunity. For decades, Israel has maintained that any uncoordinated delivery into
Gaza is a violation of its sovereignty. The U.S. has echoed that position while shielding
Israel from global accountability.
But now, as countries like Belgium, France, and Spain take matters into their own hands,
that consensus is breaking down. Even in the U.S., there is growing frustration. The
American public is beginning to question why their tax dollars fund weapons but not
food. And the same Congress that routinely rubber-stamps military aid to Israel is now
watching European nations act with moral clarity.
The consequences for U.S.-Israeli dominance could be historic. Because once
humanitarian aid becomes unstoppable, the siege itself becomes indefensible. The more
countries join this momentum, the harder it becomes for Israel to justify the continued
strangulation of 2.3 million civilians. And the harder it becomes for the United States to
maintain its credibility as a defender of international law while standing by a partner
accused of war crimes.
What if the Muslim world now followed suit—not just with speeches and resolutions, but
with economic action? What if rhetoric gave way to trade policy? If the 57 Muslim-
majority countries were to impose a complete embargo on imports from and exports to
Israel and the United States until the siege is lifted and a ceasefire implemented, the
financial impact would be staggering.
Based on conservative trade data from 2024, Muslim countries import approximately
$290 billion worth of goods and services annually from the United States and $23 billion
from Israel. In return, they export around $190 billion to the U.S. and $15 billion to
Israel. This results in a total bilateral trade volume of approximately $480 billion with the
United States and $38 billion with Israel.
If even a partial embargo were enacted—on petroleum, consumer goods, technology, or
financial services—the ripple effect could hit supply chains, energy markets, and
corporate interests in both countries. Oil exports alone could be used as leverage against
U.S. support for continued Israeli aggression. Trade redirection toward pro-Palestinian
allies, or toward neutral trading blocs, could shift global economic balances.
But economic punishment is only one side of the coin. The Muslim world can also
reward those who stand up for justice. Belgium, for example, could be granted Most
Favored Nation (MFN) status among OIC member states.
Similar preferential treatment could be extended to France, Germany, and any country
that dares to take humanitarian action where superpowers have failed. A reward-based
system would reshape international diplomacy—where moral courage earns access and
political cowardice invites isolation.
What’s especially powerful—and painful—is that this initiative has come not from the
Islamic world but from Christian-majority European nations. While Muslim governments
have delivered strong words, they have stopped short of concrete action. Belgium did not.
Neither did Spain or France. Their aid drops have reached Palestinian children before
many Muslim leaders even held emergency summits. It’s a paradox that should both
inspire and shame: that Christian nations are now leading the charge to save starving
Muslim civilians.
Yet it’s not too late. Imagine a unified Muslim airlift: planes from Türkiye, Pakistan,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, and Egypt dropping food and medicine directly into Gaza,
without seeking Israeli clearance. Imagine a simultaneous suspension of trade with the
United States and Israel. The political impact would be seismic. It would demonstrate
that the Muslim world is not merely a collection of markets and oil wells—but a bloc
capable of coordinated, morally driven global action.
And for those who still defend Israel’s destruction of Gaza in the name of “security,” the
logic collapses under the weight of human suffering. No child can be a combatant. No
woman giving birth in the rubble of a bombed-out hospital is a threat to national security.
The starvation of civilians is not collateral damage. It is cruelty codified.
Calls for Palestinians to surrender, to evacuate their land, to accept exile, are echoes of
ethnic cleansing. The West may try to reframe it in political terms, but the reality is stark:
an entire population is being punished for the existence of its identity. And now, at last,
Belgium has said: enough.
Belgium has done what much of the world failed to do—show up. Not with drone strikes
or naval blockades, but with parachutes and provisions. Not with threats, but with
compassion. In defying silence and cowardice, Belgium has reminded the world what
moral clarity looks like. It has reopened the sky—not just above Gaza, but above all of
us.
The time for empty declarations is over. The time for action is now. The sky has opened.
It’s time to fill it—not with bombs, but with food. Not with fear, but with courage. Not
with domination, but with dignity.
History will remember who came when the people of Gaza were starving. And now, at
last, the tide is turning.
About Writer:Press Secretary to the President (Rtd)
Former Press Minister, Embassy of Pakistan to France
Former MD, SRBC | Macomb, Michigan, USA
